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Spheres and Channeling Examples
The Essence mechanics are predominantly limited by two things: Names and Spheres. Combined, these two things ensure that an Essence Wielding character's can't just solve every problem with their innate superpower. They have to first figure out if what they want to do falls under one of their Spheres of Influence, and secondly think of a Name for their effect. Thinking of names can be hard, but the original Exalted material on "Charms" may be viewed with an eye towards inspiration. Indeed, the Spheres of the exalts are almost all named after the core 25 "Abilities" (which in that game function as broad multi-applicable skills). Important Note: Essence channelings should not undermine the power or significance of deeds point expenditure; so they should not let you double your dice, re-roll all traitors, shade-shift, or ignore all wound penalties! : Sphere Crossovers You may have noticed from each of the exalted substock sections that each Caste has crossovers with Caste of other exalt-types. This is to allow the different Castes to occasionally Help one another with appropriate Essence tests. Here we will lay it all out so you can see where all the cross-overs between exalt-types are. Solars/Abyssals: Dragon-Bloods: Sidereals: Lunars: One may immediately note from these tables that some Spheres get more favour than others. This is a somewhat deliberate balancing act, but is mostly just thematic. For instance, the fact that the abyssal and solar Spheres are almost identical is because the abyssals are just corrupted solar exaltations. Tip: Press Ctrl+F to search for a Sphere name to quickly check which Castes can help one another. Sphere Descriptions To aid players and GMs alike, this section will describe each of the main exalted Spheres and what they represent in semi-mechanical semi-narrative terms. The Spheres are usually associated with a number of skills. GMs and Players alike are encouraged to be flexible with these definitions though: Skill Spheres Archery: The Quiver "Archery" typically governs the use of personal devices that launch projectiles, either through strength, chemical reactions, or magic. It covers all Ranged Martial-type skills that are not explicitly mentioned by other Spheres. Athletics: The Greaves "Athletics" is the control over one's own movement, coordination, balance and application of physical strength. It governs leaping, climbing, and many sports. It covers the Ditch Digging and Hauling skills, and all Physical-type skills that are not explicitly mentioned by other Spheres. It also covers the Power stat when used for feats of strength (e.g. against materials, BWG pg 541), and the Speed stat when used for Close, Maintain, and Withdraw manoeuvres. Awareness: The Owl "Awareness" represents the senses. It is arguably the simplest Sphere, as it only really covers the Perception stat for noticing things, and the Observation skill. It technically also covers the Aura Reading skill, but few have this power. Brawl: The Gauntlets "Brawl" is the Sphere that governs all hand-to-hand fighting, grappling, and use of improvised weapons in combat. It covers the Brawling and Savage Attack skills, plus all mundane Martial Arts skills (like Boxing or Wǔshù). Bureaucracy: The Wagon This Sphere, like most others, governs the use more than one thing. "Bureaucracy" is primarily concerned with business matters, such as haggling, inventory control, and financial matters, as well as the ability to form, use and navigate complex organizations, such as governments and guilds. It covers skills like Accounting, Administration, Amercement, Appraisal, Etiquette, Haggling, Jargon, Rule of Law, and of course Bureaucracy. Craft: The Peacock "Craft" is one of the most broad Spheres, as it is a general measure of creativity and self-expression through the creation of objects. It covers all Craftsman and Artisan-type skills that are not explicitly mentioned by other Spheres, plus Mending, Sewing, and Weaving. The Craft Sphere also technically includes the Enchanting skill, but few have this power. Dodge: The Vase "Dodge" is one of the simpler Spheres. Dodge consists solely of the ability to quickly and wittingly manoeuvre in order to avoid harm (or the topic). It covers the Speed stat for all Positioning tests, all Avoid actions (including social evasion), prevention of falling damage, and acrobatics. Integrity: The Smoke Integrity measures a characters passive ability to maintain their sense of self. It covers all School of Thought-type skills that are not explicitly mentioned by other Spheres, as well as the Steel attribute. Investigation: The Key "Investigation" deals with examination of evidence, discovering information and reading people. It covers all Academic-skills that have are not already been explicitly mentioned, plus things like Interrogation, and Scavenging. Larceny: The Guardians This Sphere governs all of the miscellaneous adventurer's skills, like robbery, arson, and being a barfly and a nuisance. It covers all Special-type skills that have are not explicitly mentioned elsewhere, plus things like Begging and Extortion. Linguistics: The Pillar "Linguistics" is the Ability that governs language-learning and etymology and the like. It covers skills like Anicent and Foreign Languages, Sign Languages, Calligraphy, Cryptography, Read/ Write/ Literacy, and Symbology, and so on. Lore: The Trove "Lore" covers how much the character knows about the world around him, and how observant he might be of things new and old. It is also the ability to tell stories and teach others. All Wise-type skills, plus Astrology, Cartography, Chronology, Instruction, History and Doctrine. Medicine: The Corpse "Medicine" deals with knowledge about the body as well as skill in manipulating it for healing, surgical or other reasons. It covers all Medicinal-type skills that are not explicitly mentioned by other Spheres, plus things like Anatomy and Child-Rearing. Melee: The Spear "Melee" governs the use of close-quarters weapons designed to be wielded in combat. The Sphere covers all Close-combat Martial-type skills that have are not already been explicitly mentioned. Occult: The Magician "Occult" measures a character's sensitivity to and ability to manipulate magical forces. It covers Sorcerous-type skills that are not explicitly mentioned by other Spheres, plus things like Demonology/Empyrealia, and Ritual. Performance: The Musicians "Performance" allows the character to express themselves artistically. It covers all Musical and Artist-type skills that are not explicitly mentioned by other Spheres, plus Acting, Composition, Dance, and Theatrics. Presence: The Helmet "Presence" covers leadership and the instilment of inspiration in others. This may include political speeches or commanding the battlefield, and covers skills like Command, Conspicuous, Intimidation, Oration, Preaching, and Religious Diatribe. Resistance: The Shield "Resistance" measures how well a character can shrug off challenges to her physical body, such as poison, disease and sustaining function through hardship. It covers the Health attribute, as well as skills like Drinking. Ride: The Messenger The somewhat poorly named "Ride" Sphere represents the domination of lesser entities. It is mostly used to control mounts, but is also employed when ghosts possess people and so on. It also sees some use in controlling vehicles. It covers skills like Riding, Animal Husbandry, Driving, Falconry, and Mounted Combat. Sail: The Ship "Sail" governs control of vessels and covers all Seafaring-type skills that are not explicitly mentioned by other Spheres. Socialize: The Lovers "Socialize" covers all other social interactions and form of persuasion, dealing more with empathy, seduction, and deception. Socialize is also more of a two-way street, understanding and noticing the motives of others. It covers all other Social-type skills that are not explicitly mentioned by other Spheres. Stealth: The Mask "Stealth" governs concealment, hiding and the unexpected. It covers skills like Stealthy, Camouflage, Inconspicuous, Disguise, and so forth. Survival: The Burning Wheel "Survival" provides safety and comfort in the wilderness, allowing the character to find water and food and find of make shelter. It covers setting traps, predicting the weather, tracking. It covers all Forester and Peasant-type skills that are not explicitly mentioned by other Spheres. Thrown: The Rope Simply: "Thrown" is the ability to throw things. It covers the Throwing skill, as well as things like Blowpipes, Javelins, Slings, and Fans, when appropriate. War: The Banner "War" governs combat at a logistic, strategic, and tactical level. It covers all Military-type skills that are not explicitly mentioned by other Spheres, plus Strategy Games and siege weapon-type Martial-type skills. Stat/ Attribute Spheres Lunars are slightly different, they get Spheres that revolve predominantly around Stats and Attributes. This makes them broader (and in some sense more powerful), but also means that lunars cannot help the other exalt types (or each other!) that often, except with Survival (which is their only Skill Sphere, see above). Conflict: The Blood Moon Charisma: The Waning Moon Combines Appearance and Charisma. Dexterity: The Gibbous Moon Intelligence: The Cresent Moon Life: The Super Moon Manipulation: The Waxing Moon Strength: The Full Moon Combines Stamina and Strength. Wisdom: The Blue Moon Wits: The New Moon Combines Perception and Wits. Thematic Spheres These are all the weird sounding extra Spheres that every caste gets: Air, Battles, Changing Moon, Day, Daybreak, Dawn, Dusk, Earth, Eclipse, Endings, Fire, Full Moon, Journeys, Midnight, Moonshadow, New Moon, Night, Secrets, Serenity, Twilight, Water, Wood, and Zenith. These are mainly here for semantic and thematic purposes. Their use is somewhat limited except for styling the other powers that an exalt might use in conjunction with them. : For example, a Wood Caste might describe their Essence-powered arrow shots to flourish with new life that causes each arrow lost to eventually grow a new tree. Whereas a Dawn Caste might say that their arrows shine with the blinding light of dawn as they whistle through the air. There are potentially infinitely many thematic Spheres, since each Sphere is encompassed by a god, and there are millions of gods in the world. Listing them all would be fruitless. The Limits of Miracles No magical force or power in the universe of Exalted can grant someone true immortality, time-travel, or resurrect someone from the dead. Some powers can approximate these effects, but there is always a catch. Additionally—with the exception of the rules laid out by the Supernatural Martial Arts section—miracles cannot be used to create more miracles or grant new Spheres. You can’t wish for more wishes. The advice given on Ex3 pg 254 about designing custom charms is also applicable to what constitutes a minor miracles over a major one. It takes a bit of familiarity, and practice, but you should get the hang of it.